Tesla Motors is asking the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board to reconsider a workers’ comp judge’s finding that a Tesla employee was severely injured due to the company’s serious and willful disregard for safety at the job site. Tesla maintains that the trial judge, Therese Da Silva, based the finding on cherry-picked testimony and ignored evidence …
In a case where an employee was fired for violating a workplace safety rule, the Second District Court of Appeal sustained a lower court’s order granting summary judgment in favor of the employer in a discrimination lawsuit by a former employee. The employee had been fired once before but was back working under a “last …
A court of appeal rejected an injured worker’s claim that he lied about the extent of his industrial injury to obtain medical care, not the $100,000 in workers’ comp benefits he received following his fall from a ladder at work. The decision upholds Waliullah Nazari’s criminal conviction for two counts of making false and fraudulent …
The First District Court of Appeal rejected an injured worker’s negligence lawsuit against the general and subcontractor that contracted his employer after finding that the Privette doctrine protects them from his claims. The court says it found no triable issues of fact that would allow the worker to seek a remedy other than the workers’ …
The Second District Court of Appeal is reversing a lower court’s decision and allowing a case alleging a work-related COVID-19 death case to continue. The employee’s widow maintains that the workers’ compensation exclusive remedy provision does not block the case because the employer fraudulently concealed a COVID-19 outbreak at an employee housing unit where her …
The Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board issued two en banc decisions in consolidated cases stating its intent to assess cumulative penalties of $12,500 each against the applicant’s attorney, Susan Garrett, and hearing representative, Lance Garrett. It is the second time the Garretts have been hit with sanctions. The WCAB says the five cases involve “a continuing …